Local media in the state was rife with speculation that local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders might have been asked to stay away from the event.

G Janardhan Reddy was a BJP member and state tourism minister before his arrest on graft charges. (PTI File Photo)

After a fancy wedding invite from former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy created waves on the internet, all eyes will now be on the guests at his daughter’s wedding, to be held in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Local media in the state was rife with speculation that local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders might have been asked to stay away from the event. Reddy was a BJP member and the state tourism minister in BS Yeddyurappa’s government before his arrest on graft charges related to the iron ore mining industry in Ballary district of the state.

However, BJP national general secretary P Muralidhar Rao told Hindustan Times that no official diktat had been issued by the party’s central leadership. “Why would the party get involved in someone’s private function? It is not a party function for us to issue any orders,” he said.

Lavish replicas of Hampi and Tirumala temples have been erected for the wedding of Reddy’s daughter.
(HT Photo)

The wedding has been in the news because of the lavish replicas of Hampi and Tirumala temples erected for the function, which many say dwarfs the Bangalore Palace. The state government and income tax officials said they will keep an eye on the wedding, especially because Reddy is out on bail in the graft case.

The wedding is set to be exclusively telecast by Janasri TV, which was launched by Reddy and his close associate B Sriramulu, who is the MP from Ballary, even though media persons from the across publications have been invited to the event.